The Whittington records £700,000 deficit in February

FINANCE: The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust has recorded an in-month deficit of more than £700,000, due mainly to an under-performance on clinical income and increasing staff costs.

The hospital trust’s month 11 finance report, submitted to the board on 23 March, says that according to International Financial Reporting Standards, the trust had an “actual” in-month deficit of £783,000, which is £731,000 worse than planned.

However, the trust still has a surplus of £236,000 for the year to date, £738,000 better than planned.

The IFRS figure includes a private finance initiative cost of £463,000 cost for 2010-11. But, as PFI costs are excluded from statutory reporting duties, the trust can report a £660,000 surplus compared to a target deficit of £78,000.

The trust’s year-to-date clinical activity is £512,000 below its own income plan, with £224,000 of that shortfall in February.

Pay expenditure fell from £10.97m in January to £10.78m in February – meaning it was still £94,000 over budget for the month. Bank spending fell by £189,000, but the saving was wiped out by a £185,000 increase in agency costs.

The NHS is at risk of losing significant amounts of its additional funding growth because of the time it will take to address its workforce shortages, according to a former Department of Health senior official.